Summer Snowflake
by x.Nanako-chan.x
Summary: Hinata died, they killed her. Life was her past. Death is her future. She can, in fact, still live her life in death. Interesting huh? Her second chance and her new life as a Shinigami. ::Naruto-Bleachcrossover:: ::SlowStart::
1. Prologue

Summer Snowflake

By x.Nanako-chan.x

xxx Information xxx

Anime: Naruto - Bleach crossover

Main Character: Hinata

Warnings: Mild swearing, OOC in Hiashi and Hanabi (first chapter only)

Pairings: Undecided.

xxx Author Note xxx

Well, here it is. New fic :3. I know, I know, I should be updating my other fics right? Well, they can wait. I love this idea so much. This is a prologue so it's pretty short. The chapters get longer later on.

Disclaimer: I do not own NARUTO or BLEACH

xxx EndA/N xxx

:Prologue:

I feel… cold, alone… Isolated, for the lack of better word. It's strange though… In fact I feel more alive than before. Odd… so very odd, it is.

I remember the feeling of falling, declining into the pitch blackness… I remember the pain, the sharp sting that overtook my body… the color?

Oh yes, red… That was it. For a single second, only a second, maybe less, my world had been coated in a scarlet flood. It was freezing… in fact, it still is though not much so. Familiar warmth overtook my body. I could feel my fingers now. They seemed to thaw out from the numbness that held me, and I found myself flexing them, as well as my toes. I tried sitting up, a throbbing pain shot through my head. I clutched it in bewilderment.

As I willed myself to open my eyes, I found myself in a forest, the wet grass dampening my clothes. Thick moisture hung in the air. I was no longer my usual training outfit: a thick jacket holding the Hyuuga emblem, navy blue pants and blue nin shoes. Instead, I was wearing a kimono: Pure white, ending at my knees.

I looked around. The air was warm but I still couldn't rid the feeling of emptiness pitting deep in my stomach. It was a clearing in a forest, melting, wet snow scattered on the ground, while deep green, thick, lush, leafy trees surrounded me. A hallow, rather thick, fallen log lay beside me in the middle of the forest. I furrowed my brow and another sharp pain overtook me and I found myself falling again. Before unconsciousness overtook me, I willed myself to find out what on earth had happened… and I could've sworn a heard a voice echoing to me:

"So, you are my other half, hmm?"

xxx

"You are not a Hyuuga! You're pathetic! Worthless! A disgrace! A waste!"

His voice boomed through the rather empty dojo. Hiashi raved at Hinata. His face wasn't its usual pale. Instead, it was rather flushed with anger, annoyance. His eyes held contempt, disappointment, anger. Behind him was his daughter, leaning casually against the paper door, with a rather cocky smirk plastered on her face. Her head was held high relatively triumphantly, and her grin grew wider at her elder sister's pitiful state.

It had been happening quite frequently now. The calls to her father's office just to be scorned at, happened on numerous occasions these days. The training sessions were harder, as well. Instead of the usual spar with her sister or him, it was full-blown, out of rage and anger.

Perhaps, it was because she had failed the chuunin exams again. It really wasn't Hinata's fault. Her father had been 'training' her rather excessively over the past few weeks. Finally, when it finally came to the actual exam, it wasn't met with a hearty, 'good luck,' or 'do your best' passed from a parent to a child. Instead she was met with a mental berating and threat if she lost. Her mind and her body weren't well that day. In the end, she had lost by over exhaustion and the over-use of chakra.

She had earned a good hard slap that night. No one ever slapped a Hyuuga. They could be punched, slashed, kicked, but to slap a Hyuuga was the ultimate sign of disrespect. And her self-doubt had been elevated ten-fold that night.

Soon, the beatings had become frequent, her father had been scheduling more and more sessions, just at the chance to beat her. His rage grew day after day when she willed herself not to fight him nor her sister. To Hinata, they were still her family. She carried their blood in her veins.

Every empathetic glance her teammates and teacher passed on to her was waved off with a mutter of, 'I-I'm sorry I made y-you w-worry. D-demo, h-hontoni, I'm a-alright. I-It was my f-fault."

At the age of fourteen Hinata had finally become a chuunin – it was her third exam and her father could never have shown more disapproval. His training sessions had become harsher, crueler, even to the Hyuuga nurse who healed her after each session. He became stricter as well. He isolated her – she didn't see her teammates or sensei for a long, long time. Hinata's training lasted for a couple of months at least, and her fifteenth birthday passed without a glance.

It was around Hanabi's birthday that everything changed. Her father never spared her a glance but when he did, his gaze was harsh. It was different from the others, so full of contempt and loathing it chilled her to the very marrow of her bones.

'Kaa-san,' she whispered, 'I wished you were here…'

It was that day. Hinata wanted to go visit her mother's grave but Hiashi held her from going back.

'Hinata,' he said, 'If you want to see your mother, you must beat Hanabi.'

She just couldn't do it. Hanabi was her little sister; she had the strength to beat her yes, but the cruelty? Oh no. Hinata was never one to be cruel. And if she did need to beat her sister, it wouldn't be with the Jyuuken. Hinata developed her own style, training by water. And from countless hours of studying, she learned how to work with seals. It was her specialty. But if she showed this to anyone in the eyes of the Hyuuga, she would be scorned at. She would be 'tainting' their family's proud name by 'playing' in water when really, it was water manipulation.

But even after all of those hateful glances, Hinata was kind. She hated fighting without a cause.

But here in the Hyuuga manor, everything was different. Her family's morals and her own clashed like darkness and light.

'Hinata get up.'

No response. 

'You worthless piece of shit, GET UP!'

His eyes were harsher than ever before, so full of loathing and disgust. He was angry. Oh, how he was angry. He grabbed a fistful of Hinata's ink-blue hair and sent a chakra filled punch on to her jaw. She didn't have time to deflect it. He just came so fast.

The impact was horrendous. He was, after all, an ANBU level clan leader. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to go back to his impassive state. He tore his hateful gaze towards his younger daughter.

'Hanabi,' he said, 'kill your sister.'

Hinata's eyes snapped open. Was her father crazy? Was he really ready to just wipe her off the face of the planet? To kill her?

'T-tou-san!?' Hanabi screeched.

'You heard me,' his voice grew louder, 'KILL HER.'

Hanabi looked back at him, eyes wide in shock.

Killing was whole new matter than simply beating her sister to a pulp. She had never done it. And she was sure as heck she didn't want to do it before she became a jounin.

'You heard me,' his voiced echoed, 'you heard what I said, or… perhaps, you're just as stupid as her, hmm?'

'I-I can't!' she stuttered.

'Ugh,' he let out a disgusted groan. 'Do it NOW, or else you will end up in the same state as her.'

Quiet footfalls neared Hinata's body. Before she knew it, her sister was standing in front of her. Hinata looked up, and saw her sister's tears glossy and reluctant.

She looked away from her elder sister's innocent eyes and let out a throaty, 'Gomenasai,' before light taps filled with chakra were touched on Hinata's vital organs.

One last tap was felt on Hinata's heart before the whole world flashed red and everything surrounding her turn black.

xxx Next Chapter xxx

:Chapter 1: Hollows:

He placed the sheet over my body and walked out of the room giving the body once last glance before he turned off the light.

I sat there in the dark room for an hour. What was I supposed to do now? Haunt the place? Yeah right.

I walked out of the room and wandered aimlessly through the forest when a shrill roar was heard outside of the gates. I ran off and I saw a huge creature – it looked like a demon.

xxx A/N xxx

Nanako: WEEEEE!! I'M LOOPY:D

Neji and Sasuke: ….

Nanako: … shut up.


	2. Ch 1: Hollows

**Summer Snowflake**

_By x.Nanako-chan.x_

**xxx Author's Note xxx**

WEEEEEE!! Seven reviews :D That makes me happy

Big thankies to: Sora Tsubasa, TheFirstHokage, Bathories Slave Kuri, Evanescences AngelKaylyn0706, and Rikori

I also need your help for who Hinata should be with…. I already got a request for Hitsugaya and Hinata but I'll let the readers pick – I'll post up a poll on my profile so go vote on it!

**xxx End Author's Note xxx**

**Chapter 1: Hollows**

I heard a small noise beside me. I winced as I tried to pry open my eyes. Turning, I realized the Hyuuga healer, Meroko, was sitting in beside of me, tears running down her old, wrinkled face. She cried for another minute before she started choking back her quiet sobs. She and I knew each other very well – I always visited her after each 'training' session with father or Hanabi.

This scene… it was so sad. Was my body so battered it made her cry and feel make her feel this way? I reached out to touch her. I wanted to try and soothe her pain but my hand fazed through her body.

What…

Her sobs ceased and she looked down. I followed her eye-line and stifled a gasp as I reached where she was looking. She was looking at a corpse. My corpse.

I balled my hand up and placed it on my chest and I heard a light clatter and felt something cold on my chest. I looked down. It was an iron chain was jotting out of my chest. I felt for my face. Nothing. There were no injuries but my body at my feet was battered and bruised. My head snapped back as I heard Meroko speak.

"Hinata… Hinata… oh, Hinata," she stayed like this for minutes stifling her cries and quietly murmuring my name.

She then stood up and looked back down at my body, letting all the venom seep into her words she snarled out, "Hiashi, the bastard."

She ran, the light taps on the floor fading into the background. She was on her way to the Hokage tower.

I stood there, dazed and simply staring out of the door she had exited. Then, I realized where I was. My corpse! My corpse was down there and I was up here.

"What in Kami's name is going on?!"

After awhile, I simply sat in the room, dazed and confused. Was this what happened every time someone passed away? Was there no paradise my mother talked about? Were all souls simply doomed to walk the earth and watch over those around them?

After a couple of minutes I heard quick sharp sounds coming closer and closer to me. Several ANBU guards and even the Godaime herself walked into the room. She let out a long, hard sigh. She ran her hands through her blonde hair. She shook her head.

"This is so wrong," were the only words she uttered.

An ANBU agent then removed my body and walked out the door. I hastily followed them – The brought my corpse to the Konohagakure morgue. I followed then stuck around – I had nowhere else to go anyways. I simply watched my teammates and the rest of the rookie 9 and Gai-sensei's team come to look at my body and say a final farewell.

Neji… he looked so angry. His usually stoic features were twisted into a grimace of disgust. I've never even seen him that way before – not even when his father, Hizashi, died.

Unconsciously, tears rolled down my cheeks. It was never supposed to be this way! I was supposed to become heiress an prove my father I was strong! I was supposed to live a long life, fighting battles alongside my comrades… and maybe… get Naruto to finally notice me as more than a friend.

I watched as the rest of the group exited the room, it was obvious they didn't care as much as the people who were close to me but they had come out of respect for a fellow shinobi.

Huh. Respect. I've always wanted that… and now that I'm dead I get it? How ironic.

My teammates left after ten more minutes of quiet, sincere murmurs about how I would've been a great leader and a strong kunoichi and soon everyone had left.

But one last person stayed – Uzumaki Naruto.

He walked over to the table where my body lay and removed the sheet that covered my body. I saw him wince at my shattered jaw – they hadn't fixed up my body yet.

He touched my forehead and he let his tears fall onto my face, "Gomenasai, Hinata-chan."

Chan huh? Even though it was a sentimental moment I couldn't help but point out how in all my life I had wanted him to call me that and now in death that's where I hear it. Funny.

He placed the sheet over my body and walked out of the room giving the body once last glance before he turned off the light.I sat there in the dark room for an hour. What was I supposed to do now? Haunt the place? Yeah right.

I walked out of the room and wandered aimlessly through the forest when a shrill roar was heard outside of the gates. I ran off and I saw a huge creature – it looked like a demon. It was colored entirely black, excusing the lines of sharp colors that ran across its body and its thick bone mask.

It turned and looked at me and in a deep hollow voice he spoke.

"My, you do look tasty - and your reiatsu is abundant. You'll be a magnificent feast for today."

A large purple tongue leaked out of his mouth and licked its thick black lips. How could I fight something like this?

I activated my byakugan and stared at the thing in front of me. His system was odd – there wasn't any charka in it but I could see bright red rubes circulated through his body, all connected to a large red ball.

Before I knew it, the thing started to charge towards me but I didn't have the will to run away. I felt weak, dizzy. The closer it got to me the more I felt like fainting; I slumped to the ground and deactivated my byakugan. I knew it was a stupid thing to do but I felt so vulnerable. My breath came out in short, shallow pants. I felt like I was being drained.

I felt the rumbles in the ground when it took a step and its shrill roar filled the air once more. The thing then opened its mouth and revealed sharp, ivory-white teeth with shreds of fleshy meat still clinging to them.

I closed my eyes in anticipation – the feeling of pain surging through my body, feeling cold once more, and the color red surrounding me…

But it never came.

Instead a girl clad in black shikahusho robes ran in front of me and pulled out a long, sharp, black katana and muttered something along the lines of, "Flutter, Haruchou!"

I watched as the girl drove her katana into the ground, shattering the blade – but something odd happened. They sat on the ground, pieces of black metal; they looked like they were in the form of steel butterflies. She jumped back a couple of meters, the broken pieces of steel just sitting there on the ground, almost forgotten.

The girl stood there in her fighting stance holding only the red hilt of her katana. Whilst the hilt was still in her hand she started moving her fingers and arms in complicated patterns.

I activated my byakugan once more and my eyes widened as I saw red beams jutting out of her fingers, about ten red thin strings per finger, connecting with the lifeless insects.

I traced the red beams and I realized the butterflies were almost coming to life. She was manipulating the butterflies, much like how a puppeteer manipulates his puppets, excuse the fact that they could only manipulate a puppet with a single hand whilst this girl had ten strings jutting out from each finger.

The girl started whipping her fingers and the butterflies fluttered over to the ugly creature that had stopped to examine the newcomer.

"A shinigami hmm? Well this feast will be even more delicious than I had planned!" he rasped out.

The girl in front of me smirked and all of the butterflies flickered over to the monster and formed a long thin line. The line of metal cut clear through the demons long leg, making the thing topple over.

"You bitch!" it roared.

The girl furrowed her brow obviously not liking the language the thing was using.

Her eyes narrowed and in a menacing tone she scoffed she said, "Shut up you bastard!"

She withdrew the butterflies and started thrashing her arms and fingers around again.

The girl sent another wave of steel towards the 'hollow'. The butterflies embedded themselves deep into the creature and thick, dark red blood leaked out of the gashes The demon sent a string of curses towards her before its bone mask cracked and it lifelessly dropped to the ground. After this his body seemed to disintegrate and I was sure the girl in front of me had defeated it.

The girl smirked and pulled her fingers and created a fist with each hand and soon, the black butterflies stacked onto the sheath and created the same black steel katana she had been holding before.

She turned back to me and I was able to take full view of her appearance. She wore black shihakusho robes with a red sash tied around her waist. She then strapped the katana onto her back. I squinted to get a better look of her. The girl had a-little-longer than black shoulder length hair, with her bangs pushed to the right side of her face. Brown eyes interlocked with my lavender tinted ones and I drew attention to the rather large purple star tattoo she on her cheekbone.

The girl smiled at me. It was warm and inviting – I haven't felt that feeling ever since I died.

"Are you alright kid?" she asked stretching out her hand for me to hold.

I instinctively grabbed it and the girl pulled me up.

"I-I'm fine. A-arigato f-for saving me. A-Ano… I'm H-Hyuuga Hinata," I said giving a slight bow.

"No need for the formalities," she grinned, "Hoshi Nanako. Nice to meet your acquaintance."

Before Nanako could go on I shyly spoke up, "Um… P-Pardon m-me, but what w-were those red strings c-coming out of your f-f-fingers when you fought the…. A-ano…"

The black haired girl cocked her eyebrow, "You saw those strings? Odd… And kid, it's called a hollow."

"A-Ano, h-hai. The h-hollow, and I-I d-did see t-those strings, i-in fact the h-hollow h-had something l-like t-that in its b-bbody. W-What is t-that?"

"That is spiritual energy, kid," she said while smiling.

I looked a little puzzled. It was terribly annoying of this girl calling me 'kid' when we were about the same age.

"A-Ano… kid? W-We're about the s-same age…"

The girl gave out a laugh, "Looks are deceiving darling!" she visibly cringed at her choice of words, "I'm about 75 years," she said while putting a hand on her hip.

I couldn't hide her shock before screaming out, "H-Hontoni? S-Seventy-five?!"

Nanako nodded, "We don't age much in Soul Society… wonder why? Maybe I should've paid more attention at the academy…" She gave a thoughtful pause and put her hand on her chin.

Now I was really confused, "Ano… S-Soul S-Society?"

"Oh yeah!" she laughed at herself a little, "I should be sending you there right about now! It's kinda like a 'heaven' for you mortals. That's where everyone who has passed away goes to. "

I nodded at the older girl thought I was still mildly confused.

"Hmm… I can't send you the normal way… You seem to have a gift that could be useful to us… I mean, not many people can see spiritual energy so freely…"

"Ano, t-it's b-because I h-have the B-byakugan…"

"Byakugan?" Nanako inquired.

"It's a b-blood limit p-possessed by the H-Hyuuga family."

Nanako closed her eyes again and regained her thoughtful pose, "Well… taicho did say I need to gather information on this place… Most shinigami haven't been here before… I guess I could use you!" she added joyfully.

Before Hinata could react Nanako had grabbed her left arm and ran through a paper door in the middle of the field.

'Since when did that get there?'

**xxx Next Chapter xxx**

**:Soul Society:**

"So," I began, "there are more than one type of d-dimension in total?"

She gave an absentminded nod, "There are five planes of existence in the universe that we had discovered so far. One," she lifted up her index finger, "of which is Soul Society - where we are located as of now.

Two," she lifted another finger, "is the human world, where mortals different from yourself reside.

Three, "she lifted up her ring finger, "is the bridge between these two worlds and yours. It's called Hueco Mundo - where the hallows hide in fear of us Shinigami.

Number four is Hell," her voice became distant and grave, "An awful place. It's where souls too evil and impure go when they are slain by a Shinigami's zanpukto.

And five," she lifted her thumb, "is your world. The new world of which we have just discovered.

**xxx Author's Note xxx**

Neji: Hey! You didn't make me cry in the dit D

Nanako: Because… Even if it would be cute if you cried for your cousin, it OOC

Neji: True, true. I would never cry for Hinata.

Hinata: Y-You w-wouldn't c-cry for m-me Neji-nii-san?

Neji: ...

Naruto: Hey! You didn't make me an ass in this fic :D

Nanako: Oh yeah… Well you really arent' an ass. I jus thave this weird nartue as to where I make people assholes just so I can bash them… haha! Speaking of which, I need to go do my daily Sakura bashing! –grabs a nearby bat- Sasuke-kun, you coming!

Sasuke: -grab another bat- Yup, I'll be right there.

**xxx Author's Note xxx**


	3. Ch 2: Soul Society

**Summer Snowflake**

By x.Nanako-chan.x

**xxxxxxxxxA/Nxxxxxxxxx**

Update: Okay, I changed the title - no oneshot since no one gave me any title ideas :/

Thank yous and cookies to **Deadly Desire. NHx3, Kaylyn0706, Mimmy700, Sora Tsubasa, TheFirstHokage, DarkSmile, and NotaPunk**

**xxxxxxxxxEndA/Nxxxxxxxxx**

**:::Chapter 2: Soul Society::: **

A bright light flashed as soon as we passed trough the screen door. Soon, the light faded away and I rubbed my eyes trying to rid them of the hurt that had relished into them.

I felt empty in the pit of my stomach as I took in my surroundings. It was like a maze in here. Ivory-white walls surrounded us, and I felt like they were closing in on me though, in fact, it was quite spacious. The walls loomed over us and I felt like I was suffocating under their shadows.

Nanako looked at me, clearly seeing that I was intimidated by the tall white walls, "You know, we can run of the roof, it you want?"

**(Haha, I never understood why Ichigo and company didn't do this when they were looking for Rukia…)**

"H-hai… arigato," I said as I nodded eagerly, with a grateful smile plastered on my face.

We jumped on top of the roofs and started running at a steady pace towards the center of this maze.

The winded whipped against my face and cooled my heated visage.

Out of curiosity, I activated my Byakugan and looked around me. Everything in this place was red, though I could still differentiate between people and all the buildings – the people had stronger signatures than the buildings.

I came to the conclusion that everything here was made of this 'spiritual energy' Nanako talked about.

I looked around the place and realized the place barely had anyone guarding it though this place seemed to be very important.

"Nanako-san?"

I couldn't tell is she heard me or not. Even I had to admit to myself that my voice had been barely audible.

I turned back to her and realized her right eyebrow was twitching.

"Ano…."

"Drop the san," she stated firmly.

"P-pardon?"

"Drop the san. It makes me feel old – well, I am old but still, don't do that."

"H-hai.. ano, Nanako..chan?"

"Hmm?" she asked, her eyes still trailed in front of our destination.

"How come not many people are here?" I questioned.

"The Shinigami graduation ceremony is being held today so most of our troops are attending as a form of respect to our fellow comrades."

"Why a-aren't you attending?"

"I was chosen by my captain to scout out the new dimension," she let out a wistful sigh. I guessed that she wanted to see the new recruits.

I took a breath trying to process the information I had just been given. Questions formed in my head and in awhile I finally had the courage to speak out.

"Shinigami?" I was curious, I still didn't know a thing about this place except it's made out of this 'reishi.'

"A Shinigami," she began, "is a soul reaper, or a death god in your words. We protect lost souls from hollows - like what I did with you."

"Demo…. Why am I special in this case? Why didn't y-you just bring me to where the other s-souls go?"

We suddenly stopped running, a tall white building with rusted yellow shingles stood over us.

"We in Soul Society don't have much information about your dimension," she started. She turned to me, "You have an ability – an ability to see through objects, see their reishi so _freely_. People of our world don't have that type of sense. Seeing as you're both from this new world you have loads of information we'll need. You seem to be a skilled fighter so you'll be a precious asset to our forces," she said, her mouth lifting up into a smile.

"M-my dimension?" I repeated absentmindedly.

Nanako simply nodded.

"We just discovered your world over a week ago; a new gate had been formed in the outskirts of Seiretei. We didn't know how it formed, or if it was safe to go explore so I was sent alone by my captain to gather information about this place," she continued, "and when I saw you, I realized your home was a lot like the Human world.

Souls could be lost and turned into hollows. Since there weren't any Shinigami in this world, I have a theory that most of the strongest hollows come from your home. Your people are smart, educated, and strong. These assets may have been brought from life to their after life. There are no guides in your homeland - all the lost souls must have been feasted upon by other hollows, or turned into hollows themselves."

"So," I began, "there are more than one type of d-dimension in total?"

She gave an absentminded nod, "There are five planes of existence in the universe that we had discovered so far. One," she lifted up her index finger, "of which is Soul Society - where we are located as of now.

Two," she lifted another finger, "is the human world, where mortals different from yourself reside.

Three, "she lifted up her ring finger, "is the bridge between these two worlds and yours. It's called Hueco Mundo - where the hallows hide in fear of us Shinigami.

Number four is Hell," her voice became distant and grave, "An awful place. It's where souls too evil and impure go when they are slain by a Shinigami's zanpukto.

And five," she lifted her thumb, "is your world. The new world of which we have just discovered.

We need your help Hinata-chan. You have knowledge of this world which we need to ensure the better safety of Soul Society, the Human World, and yours as well," she said in a serious tone.

I nodded understanding how important it was for her to keep her home safe. The worry and concern in her voice clearly showed how much she loved the place – I knew Nanako would protect it accordingly.

"Now," she said – her voice turning into a more cheery tone, "I'm going to introduce you to my captain – we'll need a lot of information from you!"

She grabbed my hand and rushed into the building. The place was pretty much empty except there were about three or four Shinigamis clad in a black uniform.

Nanako tugged me along a long corridor and stopped at the end of the hall. An emerald green door contrasted heavily with the white walls that stood by us.

Nanako started knocking, "Taichou? Toushiro taicho?"

We heard a humming coming from behind the door. Soon, a womanly voice answered, "Come in!"

Nanako opened the door and stepped inside she turned to me and mouthed a silent, "Wait here," to me.

I pushed my ear against the wall in an attempt to listen to the conversation.

"Ah! Nako-chan! How was your mission? Any problems?"

I activated my Byakugan trying to figure out what was happening from the other side of the door.

Nanako stood her back facing me and a woman with a rather large…ahem…bust faced her.

"Iie," she shook her head, "there weren't any problems. I did, in fact, encounter a hallow there but everything went well. I'm afraid I wasn't able to gather much information about this place but I brought back something that should be of use to use!" she added in a cheery voice.

"Eh? What is it?" the other woman asked.

"Just a sec!" she turned to the door and I deactivated my Byakugan, "Hina-chan! You can come in now!"

I nodded to myself and shyly walked into the room. The floor was carpeted in a soft green color with leafy plants in the corner of the room. A burnt-honey colored desk sat in the opposite side of the door, its back turned against to the large window that was situated behind it.

"Aw!" she woman screamed, "It's cute! Eh…. What is it?"

I felt the heat rush up to my face. _It._ She called me an _it_! I quickly ducked my head down so that they couldn't see my perplexed features.

"Matsumoto-san, this is Hyuuga Hinata. She's from the terrain I was scouting these past few days."

"Ah! That's great," she exclaimed, "she'll be a valuable source of information demo…"

"Demo?" Nanako repeated.

"She's dead. She shouldn't remember anything before her death, ne?"

They both turned to me, her eyes filled with concern tough Nanako had an eyebrow arched in confusion.

"A-actually…" I started in a quiet voice, "I remember everything that happened before I died," I looked up, "I remember my life, the abilities which I-I hold, my hometown and h-how I d-died," I lowered my head back down again.

"You," Nanako asked, "remember how you died?"

I nodded. I didn't see what the big deal was, "My sister and I were having a sparring match… I didn't want to hurt her so I lost… Otou-sama was angry at me for being weak so, he grabbed my hair then he shattered my jaw."

My eyes became cold and distant – somehow reliving these memories made me feel better. It was… nice… to get them out.

"A-ano… H-he ordered my sister to k-kill me then."

I saw their eyes widen – I guess they had never heard of a father to do such a horrid thing.

"My s-sister, H-Hanabi, she seemed rather r-reluctant to do it," I said in her defence, "b-but she would never d-displease otou-sama…."

The two woman in the room stared at me, waiting for me to go on with my story.

"S-she said she was sorry…" I said, but I knew they held no sympathy for my sister, "so t-then she shut off all my vital organs by hitting them with her Jyuuken. I remember… the color red…. How cold it was…. Then I passed out. When I woke up, I had a chain jutting out of my chest."

I looked back down and place a hand where it had been. I didn't realize it had been removed when we passed through the gates.

"I wandered around for awhile, and then I saw t-the H-hallow."

They looked at me, their eyes passive; I guessed that they expected more from me.

"I met Nanako-chan after that…. Then we left."

Matsumoto gave an absent minded nod and let out a deep breathe.

"Well," she started, "I guess we'll need to put you in the Shinigami academy for awhile."

"A-ano… why?" I asked.

"We'll need a lot of information. I doubt it would be okay with you if you sat around in a room all day never knowing what we need of you. The academy will be good for you, you'll be a valuable asset to Seiretei. You reishi signature is quite strong actually."

I smiled to myself – _a valuable asset_. Most people in Konoha thought of me as a burden – I was always the shy, weak girl in the Konoha 11.

My smile grew wider. It's my second chance – my second shot as living.

A new life – a new life as a Shinigami

**xxxxxxxxx**NextChapter**xxxxxxxxx **

**:::The Academy:::**

"I am Professor. Just Professor," he stated. "I want to congratulate all of you for making it into the Shinigami Academy. You all must that you are the beginners in this Academy and that all of you may graduate in six years, _but_," he added, "if you believe you are up for a challenge, you may enter the advance class _if_, of course, I see fit. Whether or not you take the advanced class helps define when you will graduate."

**xxxxxxxxx****A/Nxxxxxxxxx**

Weee!! New chapter :D Hurrah!

Well, I need ideas for Hinatas zanpakuto… And sorry for not updating sooner. My computer been screwy for the past couple of days. Anyways I'll try to update ASAP.

**Reviews are nice too :)**

**xxxxxxxxxEndA/Nxxxxxxxxx**


	4. Ch 3: The Academy

**Summer Snowflake**

By: x.Nanako-chan.x

**xxxxxxxxxA/Nxxxxxxxxx**

OMGOMGOMGOMG!! I have two C2s so far! Omg I'm so happy:D And I also have to thank you guys for all the alerts and favourites! You know who you are.

I also want to thank **Andrain John, SpammishRice, windlg, ShadowYashi, Liah Cauthon, DarkSmile, Mimmy700, NotaPunk, Punkey-Monkey and Lolliot** for reviewing last chapter but I give an extended thank you to:

**Spammy and Andrain John** for giving so much though and help for Hinata's zanpakuto and squad. I lurvs you guys

I would also like to separately thank **Evanescences Angel** _so much_ who came up with a very thorough description of Hinata's zanpakuto. I will, in fact, be using her idea. Thanks so much Angel-chan!

BTW I think this chapter is uber boring, just don't kill me, kay? Oh, and it's been approximately two days since the last chap.

**xxxxxxx****xxEndA/Nxxxxxxxxx**

**::: Chapter 3: The Academy :::**

I hugged my books tighter against my chest as I walked into classroom. I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized no one had yet to enter the classroom other than myself. I glanced at the clock that hung above the white board and I laughed to myself as I was about an hour early.

As I walked passed the rows of desks and made my way to the back of class, I shook my head to myself. I was still shy after all that had happened to me.

I put my books down and gnawed at my lip as I read through one of the text books.

It taught the basics of how to control your spiritual energy, and I couldn't help but point out how it seemed to work an awful lot like chakra. You harnessed it to enhance your power whether it was for your zanpakuto or creating energy based spells and attacks called _kido_.

A couple of days ago I tried using a couple of basic ninja jutsus. It seemed I _could_ use spiritual energy as a substitute for chakra but it seemed I needed at least twice as much spiritual energy to suffice for the lack of chakra. I tried doing higher up jutsus but it took a lot of strain on my body. I can't even hold my Byakugan for more that a couple of hours straight, compared to how in Konoha I could hold it for two days at the most.

I sighed. Even after a couple of days of living here I just can't seem to get used to their ways of living… everything just seems so… carefree. I guess that's how anyone would feel if they were binded by the Hyuuga clan's rules for sixteen years.

I had been staying with Nanako for the past couple of days and she just seemed so… lighthearted. She told me that she didn't remember her life in the human world and that's why it was such a shock to her and Matsumoto that I remembered. They explained to me very seldom few souls remember their life before death.

Ever since that day I had wondered to myself if it had been better that I hadn't remembered who I was. I mentally berated myself for thinking this. I had to admit that remembering my comrades was nice. What they did for me, the only word I could think of was… kind. Kiba and Shino were like brothers to me. Kurenai was my mother-figure. Neji was my flesh and blood. Naruto… he was my inspiration.

But the truth is they aren't here anymore.

I played and tugged the long sleeve of my red Shinigami student uniform as past memories raced through my mind.

I thought of the hot red blush that spread across my cheeks when I came face to face with Naruto at the hospital. I thought of how Kiba and Shino trained with me diligently everyday and how kind and patient they were with me. I thought of the day I found out Kurenai-sensei was pregnant and how she wanted me to become one of the child's guardians. I thought of the time when Neji-niisan trained with me in the Hyuuga courtyard and gave me a genuine praise for the first time.

A sad smile crept upon my face as these past memories flooded my mind. It was different now though. I reminded myself how I had to push them to the back of my mind to make room for my new memories.

Sighing as I looked back up at the clock, I realized I had spent about forty-five minutes reading and reminiscing. I shook my head and prepped myself to move to the front of the classroom – I _had _to develop some kind of backbone while living here.

I trudged towards the front of the class being careful not to trip on the separated landings and sat down. I was bored of reading so I sat and listened to the quiet chatters of the several other Shinigami students in the corridor.

In the next couple of minutes several other students walked into the classroom chatting amiably with their friends. Earlier, Nanako told me that becoming a Shinigami was somewhat of a privilege among sorts. Select few were able to become a Shinigami because most people couldn't tap into their spiritual energy. She also told me that Soul Society was divided in two – Seireitei and Rukongai. Rukongai, she said, was divided into 320 districts where normal souls would reside.

Now that I think about it, I never had any experience with these so called districts. I guess some people came here with friends.

Again, I looked back up at the clock – five minutes before class starts. I looked around the classroom and realized it was just about filled with students. Red and blue Shinigami uniforms stood out from the brown coloured desks. Hearing the door open, most of the students turned their attention towards a man dressed in a black Shinigami attire with a white over-coat on.

He stepped up to the front of the class and cleared his throat gaining attention from the rest of the class.

"I am Professor. Just Professor," he stated. "I want to congratulate all of you for making it into the Shinigami Academy. You all must that you are the beginners in this Academy and that all of you may graduate in six years, _but_," he added, "if you believe you are up for a challenge, you may enter the advance class _if_, of course, I see fit. Whether or not you take the advanced class helps define when you will graduate."

His gaze lingered upon the students for a few more seconds as he stroked his brown beard.

A knock was heard at the door and Professor answered with a friendly come in. I smiled a little as Nanako respectfully bowed to the professor and closed the door behind her.

"Professor, the Gotei 13's captains have come to make an introduction to all of the new recruits."

"Ah," he exclaimed as he sat down.

I felt several strong spiritual energies emitting from the corridor outside the door. I felt woozy – Nanako had explained this to be my spiritual energy interacting with theirs.

An elderly man walked into the classroom followed by 12 other Shinigamis clad in black robes. I noticed that only 10 of these Shinigamis wore a white haori over their robes and the others had the regular Shinigami outfit with an arm band holding their division number.

I watched as Professor stood up and bowed to them. A split second later I heard the scraping of the chairs against the floor and looked around and realized the other students had bowed as well.

Crap. I hastily stood and bowed to the 13 Shinigamis which earned a couple of giggles from the class and a red blush across my face. I, as well as the rest of the class and Professor, sat down. I swayed a little before I grabbed the desk to steady myself.

I felt more and more dizzy so I thought of activating my Byakugan in a strive to gauge their spiritual power.

My attention drew to the elderly man who led the rest of the Shinigamis into the room. Wow… he seemed entirely too old to be a fighter – he was bald with a long ivory-white beard and eyebrows. His clothing was a standard Shinigami robes with a lengthy haori that fell over his shoulders and a large wooden staff he used to support his weight. I furrowed my brow in confusion. He didn't seem to have a zanpakuto with him. Even in Konoha ANBU agents brought their katana with them wherever they went.

As he began to make his introduction I finally decided to activate my Byakugan.

"I am Yamamoto-Genryūsai Shigekuni, captain of the first division. I founded the Shiniga-"

He abruptly stopped and looked directly at me. I felt like I was falling. His reikai was very powerful and what I found odd was a large amount of the spiritual was concentrated on his staff. His brow was old and wrinkled and an x shaped scar ran over his bald head.

I stifled a gasp, turned away and hastily deactivated my Byakugan. After a couple of seconds, he took his attention off of me, looked back at the class and finished his introduction; He said that he founded the Shinigami academy over 2000 years ago. I can't even imagine someone living so long.

The next Shinigami who presented herself was Captain Soifong. Her hair was a ravenous black and wrapped in white bandages. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the classroom and introduced herself as the captain of the second division.

Several other Shinigamis made their introductions but not as Captains. They proclaimed to us that they were lieutenants representing the third, fifth and ninth divisions. I wanted to ask why the captains weren't there to present themselves but decided it was best to ask Nanako after class.

The remaining captains made their introductions but there were a couple in the group which caught my attention as well as the rest of the class. One of the two was Komamura Sajin. I couldn't see his face because it was covered by a wierd bucket thing and without turning on my Byakugan I couldn't see it. I was awfully curious but I decided against using my bloodline – I didn't want to draw so much attantion towards me on the first day. The man seemed rather large though I wasn't able to cath a glimpse of skin underneath all the clothing he wore.

The next was Kurotsuchi Mayuri. I don't know much about this captain except he was the captain of the 12th division and 2nd president of the Shinigami research institute but even so, he gave me the chills. The way eyes shifted from student to student was enough to make me look away and unfortunatly I didn't have the courage to look him in the eye. The man was scary – he reminded me an awful lot like Orichimaru and that fact made my blood run cold.

The Professor thanked the captains and gave a polite bow as they made a quiet exit towards the room. Yamamoto-taicho glanced at me once more before he followed the rest of the captains into the corridor.

The rest of the class was… uneventful. Professor simply talked to us about the general information of being a Shinigami

"Shinigamis govern the flow of spirits in the living and spirit world. Their duties include sending normal human souls to the Soul Society and the purification of Hollows, human ghosts who lose their souls and become soul-devouring monsters.

In the next six years me and various other Professors will be training you in kido, agility, your swondsmanship and we will touch a bit on your skills with hand-to-hand cambat."

We were dismissed after two hours – it seemed today was only an introduction with the teacher, captains and explanation to our studies. I collected my books and stepped out of the classroom.

Frick.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do right now since Nanako was the one who brought me here and I doubt I'd remember how to get back to her appartment.

"I'm an idiot," I thought out loud as I slumped into a slouch.

"What?" a voice asked. "Did you embarrass yourself on the first day? I remember Renji did something like that at the academy. He was like 'Hey! Let me answer the question!' and then the Professor was like, 'But everyone has to move so you could get down,' or something like that…"

I turned around and saw Nanako closing her eyes in a thinking position, her left hand under her chin while her right hand rested under her left elbow.

She straightened up and I realized she had been holding a clipboard and pen.

"Eh, Nanako-chan, shouldn't you be working right now?"

"Actually," she replied, "I've come to bring you to meet the Gotei 13's captains. It seems you caught Yamamoto-taicho's attention when you activated your Byakugan, _and_ what's worse is Matsumoto forgot to file a report in the past few days that I brought you over so even _he_ doesn't know you're from the new dimension.

Geez," she gave an aspirated sigh, "how did that woman even get to be a lieutenant? I mean she barely does anything that Toushirou-taicho says to do, and here _I_ am picking up the slack for her and… eh, let's face it. Life's not fair," she sighed, "C'mon now."

She grabbed my hand and started pulling me along the corridors. We then exited the building and started running on top of the roofs again and made our way towards the center of Seireitei.

"Follow," she said, "just be respectful of the captains, and oh… just… be careful of Mayuri-taicho."

I saw her make a little shudder. Just what was it was so bad about that man to make eveyone feel that way?

**xxxxxxxxxA/Nxxxxxxxxx**

Nya, I can't say I'm too happy with this chapter. I remember **Andrain John and Spammy** talked about keeping Hinata away from Mayuri ::shudders:: that would be _bad_ really _really bad._

Oh and I think this chapter was genuinely longer than most of the other chapters hmm… oh well xD

Anyways, remember, I **love** reviews!

And yes, I did change the title. You'll see what it relates to later on.

I had a couple of people asking me for a particular pairing but I wanna say that I'd be happier if you guys just vote on the poll -.-; I'm lazy like that... And it seems someone voted on 'Other Pairings' It's not much help unless you PM me or ask for a new choice in a review...

BTW, the **definition for Shinigami was taken from wikipedia** -.-;

**xxxxxxxxxEndA/Nxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Next Chapter: My Captain, My Dream**

I sat down in a chair down the hallway and started playing with a lock of my inkish-blue hair. I always wondered how I even got this hair color. Sakura's hair is obviously dyed though I had never dyed or used anything other than regular shampoo.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	5. Ch 4: My Captain, My Dream

**Summer Snowflake**

x.Nanako-chan.x

**xxxxA/Nxxxx**

I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER!! I just couldn't seem to get the ball rolling... Anyways, you guys are just about the best motivators out there :D And guess what? Summer Snowflake hit over 1450 views D Coolio!

Thanks so much for the reviews **Punkey-Monkey, NotaPunk, windlg, fried ryce, Firenze2000, DarkSmile, TheFirstHokage, Mitsuki, Shadow Zeranion, Clint, TamTam's rule, Danimals, and Raven's Familiar!**

**xxxxxxxxx**

**Chapter 4: My Captain, My Dream**

It had been about five minutes since Nanako had left me in the hallway. I tried listening to the inaudible murmurs emitting from the 'conference room' but to no avail.

I sat down in a chair down the hallway and started playing with a lock of my inkish-blue hair. I always wondered how I even got this hair color. Sakura's hair is obviously dyed after all, and most Hyuugas were known to have brown hair. I had never dyed or used anything other than regular shampoo after all…

Ugh. Forget it.

Bored. That was the only thing I could describe myself as. Extremely, very, awfully, tremendously BORED…

I heard the door slide open and Nanako stuck her head out and motioned for me to come in, her gold hoop earrings swaying in the process.

I inwardly cheered to myself that I would actually get o do something after all this waiting.

I quietly walked into the room and started twiddling my fingers with one and other when I saw that everyone in the room had their eyes trailed on me. I suddenly remembered the interesting little 'incident' that happened during the class. I felt the heat rush to my face and leaned down to bow.

"K-k-konnichiwa," I stuttered as I straightened up.

I noticed that there were a lot more Shinigami in this room than I had met earlier.

The first division's captain opened his mouth to speak but shushed as another voice filled the air.

"What interesting eyes... Tell me child, are you blind?"

I looked over to what had spoken and suppressed a shudder as I realized it was Mayuri-taicho speaking.

My eyes trailed down to the floor. I just couldn't seem to look him in the face.

"I-iie… it's… ano, Byakugan," I replied, whispering the last part almost inaudibly while poking my fingers together and trying to repress the need to shiver.

I heard quiet footfalls nearing me and a finger tucked underneath my chin and tilted it upwards. My eyes wavered as I came face to face with Mayuri-taicho and I flinched from the close contact.

"Amazing," he exclaimed. "No iris, no pupil and such odd color pigmentation. Such a pale violet as well? Very rare…even the sclera (1) is violet."

He pulled out a small flashlight from his haori (2) and flashed it into my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut as the bright light flashed into my eyes. I felt them water and broke free from his grasp to rub my eyes. Hyuugas tend to be very sensitive to bright lights (3).

I took a step backwards and felt a hand placed on my shoulder. I looked to my side and realized Nanako was there beside me giving Mayuri-taicho a narrow eyed glare.

"With all due respect Mayuri-_taicho_," she hissed, "Hinata is not be used as a test subject."

"Ugh. Insolent child," he retorted, "You have no right to question my motives. As your captain I _kindly_ ask you to stand down," he continued in a sarcastic manner.

Before Nanako was able to reply another voice I didn't recognize rang through the air.

"But you are not Nanako's captain Mayuri-san."

I looked over to where the voice had come from and realized it was another captain speaking. He was leaning against the wall, eyes closed. I recognized him as one of the youngest captains in the room though he seemed equally as mature as the rest. What was his name again…? I recalled he attended, along with all the other captains and lieutenants, to the academy introductions… Ah, Hitsugaya Toshiro.

"And Hyuuga-san is not to be used as an experiment," another voice interfered.

All the captains and lieutenants turned to hear the booming voice of the first division's captain, Yamamoto. "This girl is our sole source of information on the new gate as well as a citizen of Soul Society. Under my orders you are not to conduct a single experiment on her unless it is approved by me as well as her captain to be."

I turned to see Mayuri-taicho reluctantly nod at Yamamoto-taicho's order.

"So," he said, "Let us begin."

I nodded solemnly. I had this strange feeling this was going to take awhile.

"Now Hyuuga-san," he started.

"A-ano… gomen, d-demo I don't l-like to be called 'H-hyuuga-san.'"

…There was a time when I was proud to be called a Hyuuga… but that was a long time ago, when I was young and naïve and when the world seemed revolved around okaa-san and me….

"Just Hinata… please," I asked meekly.

He seemed to give me puzzled expression but decided to ignore it.

"Well then Hinata-san," he said, "could you please tell me where you're from?"

"K-konoha," I replied.

"And Konoha is…?"

"Eto… I'it's one of the f-five greatest shinobi v-villages."

"Shinobi?" he inquired.

"Mhm," I murmured, "s-shinobi, in my w-world are s-special people who h-have been trained a-at a young age t-to take o-on missions for the village a-and other villages. Konohagakure (4) is one of the f-five great hidden villages in my home. Technically we're the military center in the Land of Fire. Shinobi, or ninja are fighters that specialize in ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjustsu.

I mentally praised myself seeing as I didn't stutter in my last couple of sentences. After all, this had been something we had been taught to know since the beginning of our academy days.

"Now, kindly tell me what ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu are."

I sighed. I had a feeling this would take awhile.

…. **BORING**TALK**BORING**TALK**BORING**TALK…

**It DID take awhile. **

I had left the academy around, what? 12:30? And here I am back in Nanako's apartment – 5 minutes to 6:00.

Hours of questioning, me repeating myself over and over and over again and various confusing explanations that led to other explanations. Ugh. I just gained a newfound respect for Iruka-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Gemna-sensei, Gai-sensei – okay, maybe not Gai-sensei because Tenten and Neji were probably more irritated by him than vice-versa – and just about every other jounin and/or chuunin that had to deal with kids back in Konoha.

A low rumble emitted from my tummy and I blushed as I realized I had yet to eat neither lunch nor dinner. I made my way to the small kitchen provided in Nanako's kitchen.

"Hmm…"

I observed the contents of the refrigerator and pondered what I was to make. For the most part, I was pretty surprised that the thing was almost stuffed to the max with just about everything you need to cook a hearty meal. Fish, beef, chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, oranges, apples, milk, chocolate milk, orange juice, apple juice, marinating sauces, eggs, tofu… sake? …and just about everything seemed to be in there. I opened up the pantry and twitched as I realized it was just as stuffed as the refrigerator.

….just how much did this girl eat?

Even after living her these past couple of days I had never been in the kitchen nor had I eaten a meal with Nanako. Odd. We would always go out, or at least she would take me somewhere and head off to work – all I had to do was charge it on her account. Hmm… she must eat at home then.

I stared at the clock – 6:03.

I decided rather than going back to the usual restaurant I ate, I would prepare a meal for Nanako. After all, she's done so much for me, hasn't she?

I proceeded taking out the necessary foods I needed to make dinner out of the fridge and turned on the stove top.

**xxxTimeSkip-45minutesxxx**

I felt my left eye unconsciously twitch as I watched her drool and drone out a mutter or, "Itadakimasu," before gluttonously ravaging the rice, grilled yakizakana (5), shabu-shabu (6), and tonjiru. (7)

"Neh, Hina-chan!" she said as she exhaled from eating so much.

"H-hai?" I asked as I quickly looked up from my soup.

"You're a really good cook," she stated as she grinned and pointed at me with her chopsticks.

"Eh, N-Nanako-chan, it isn't polite to p-point," I muttered.

"Gosh, Hina-chan," she sighed, "You should really stop being so strung up."

I finished scooping her another bowl of rice and handed it to her. Her right side was leaning against the low table, her elbow propped up on it with her hand balled into a fist placed against her right cheek.

"A-ano, what do y-you mean?"

I heard her give a small sigh, "You don't have to act so… so... much like royalty," she pondered.

"A-ano.."

"I mean like really Hina-chan," she started, "your father isn't here anymore. Your sister isn't here anymore; your friends and enemies are **not** here anymore. Don't get me wrong Hina-chan, I'm not trying to scare you but this is your second chance. Your second shot at living. You don't have to be scared about what they think. You don't have to be scared of what _I_ think either. Just think of how you think of yourself. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks as long as you believe in yourself and you believe that it's the right choice."

Her tone was even and firm. My gaze drifted from her mocha brown eyes to the sleek, shiny, dark brown table seated in front of me. Deep down, I knew she was right but I'm probably too stubborn to realize it. I toyed with my hands, rubbing them together as what she said sunk into my mind.

It's true isn't it? I barely know these people. Why should I let them have control over me?

Silence washed over the room and a shy blush spread over my features as well. I looked back up at her and pushed my fingers together – an old habit – as a genuine smile graced my face.

"Ah.. I-I guess you're r-right Nako-chan."

I saw her grin for the nick-name I gave to her. Hey, at least she stopped calling me kid right?

We continued eating for awhile – I didn't feel like talking. Yamamoto-taicho had me talk enough for today and it wasn't a help that Mayuri-taicho still wanted to cut out my eyes…

I put the dishes into the sink and smiled to myself at the clean plates. She _did_ have a big appetite.

I walked over to my bathroom and ran the shower. I sighed as the warm liquid rushed over me. I grabbed a bottle of shampoo and rubbed it into my scalp. Then, I grabbed the towel that sat on the sink and wrapped it around my body as I walked back to my room – it was beside Nako's.

I changed into a black t-shirt and a pair of shorts and crawled into bed. The warmth enveloped me and soon darkness enveloped me…

Unlike before, it wasn't cold. It was warm. Was… was this a _dream_?

I lay on the ground and steadied myself as I helped myself up. I stifled a gasp as I saw a younger version of myself run around the Hyuuga compounds garden. I remembered this place. It's where kaa-san would plant her rarest flowers.

The little girl ran over to a group of small white flowers centered around a bush. She picked a stalk up and a happy blush wildly spread across her face.

"I'm gonna show this to kaa-san," she whispered.

I watched myself run into the compound and decided to follow. Quiet padding halted as I turned around the corner. I saw myself bump into my father who was currently ominously looming over my petit figure.

"G-gomen," she stuttered out.

I watched him glare at my younger self and walk off, disgust clearly written across his face.

I remember now – that was a couple days after Hanabi had been born.

I followed the little girl run over to a room of which she gently pushed open the door.

"Kaa-san," she whispered.

"Ah, Hinata-chan," a womanly voice replied to her. It sound so drained and tired but a smile was clearly evident in her voice. I felt tears stinging the corner of my eyes. How I missed kaa-san.

"Hinata-chan what are you doing here," she asked gently pulling the little girl up onto the bed.

"Ano, kaa-san," she smiled, "I found this pretty flower in the garden. I want you to have it!" she said happily.

"Arigatou Hina-chan."

I felt something wet on my cheeks. I reached up and felt the moisture at my finger tips. I really was crying, wasn't I?

Kaa-san gingerly took the flower from the little girl's hands and fingered the droopy flower petals gently.

"Do you know what this flower is honey?"

"Iie," she replied.

"It's called a summer snowflake."

_Summer snowflake?_

"Demo kaa-san, it's hot in summer and snowflakes only fall when it's winter!" the little girl protested.

The woman laughed quietly. I couldn't help but think it sounded like a tinkling of a bell. Oh, how I yearned to hold kaa-san again. I missed her so terribly.

"The summer snowflake darling," she whispered, "represents hope for all things."

At this time I heard kaa-san wince and grasp her stomach.

"K-kaa-san," I heard younger myself stutter out. "W-will you get better if I give you this flower?" I heard the five-year-old say.

"Maybe honey," she said in a wistful tone, "perhaps."

I watched her gingerly tilt the little girls head up and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Kaa-san," the child mumbled before falling asleep.

I closed my eyes. It hurt so much because I knew exactly what happened afterwards.

I reopened them and sure enough I was back in the garden. The little Hinata, dressed in a thick woolen jacket and scarf walked past the various flowers beside her unbeknownst to her that they had wilted and been covered in frost.

She made her way towards the bush and tried searching for the flower. Nothing. The flowers had all drooped into the snow, bitten by the cold and frosted by the snowflakes.

"Iie," she cried, tears forming at the side of her eyes.

She ran inside the Hyuuga manor, not bothering to take of her jacket or mittens.

'Kaa-san' she thought.

When reaching the room Hinata ran over to her mothers' bedside.

A smile graced her mothers' rosy lips and the younger Hinata just noticed how pale she seemed.

"Kaa-san," she whispered, tears forming and threatening to fall.

"Kaa-san" she cried. She pulled her mittens off and placed her hand on her mothers' forehead. She was cold. Where was that warmth her mother always gave off? The feeling of belonging she always received when she was with her?

The little girl crawled into the bed with her dead mother and held her hand. She felt a silky texture in her kaa-san's hand and looked down to find the summer snowflake she had given to her the other day.

"K-kaa-san," she whispered, "I thought t-this flower w-was s-supposed to give h-hope."

It was two much for the young girl to handle. She sobbed and cried so hard, hugging her mother asking her to come back.

A Hyuuga maid ran to the room. A young girls screaming could be heard from around the Hyuuga compound.

I trembled and slumped onto the ground. Kaa-san, I thought. Why did you have to go? Tears fell and my vision became blurry as darkness engulfed me.

_Kaa-san, you said the summer snowflake brought hope, didn't you?_

**xxxxA/Nxxxx**

That made me sad…. And reviews make me happy, but I'm still sad…

This chapter was a little short, but I sure didn't want to go into detail with all the basic ninja stuff you guys already know so yeah… Review please… and I have question I need you to answer!

**xxxxxQuestions – Ineedhelpxxxxx**

**Okay I need your opinions and such for the story:**

Should Hinata's new friend be a boy or a girl? If it's a boy I'll just use Tatsuya… it would be so much easier for me xD

If you're new to reading Summer Snowflake, who should Hinata be with? PLEASE VOTE ON THE POLL. Do not post it in your review please :)

Should I send another ninja to Soul Society:/

And three, I've gotten a request from a couple of people asking that Nanako should be paired up with someone. What do you guys think? If you guys _do _choose to let her have a love interest, I'll try my best not to let her take away Hinata's spotlight.

**xxxxDefinitionsxxxx**

Sclera – If you guys don't know, I'm pretty sure it's the white part of your eyes. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Haori – The white over-coat that the captains use.

I'm not sure if this is true, but I can imagine it being so because of their bloodline.

Konohagakure – Nothing special, you probably know that it's the unabbreviated version of Konoha.

Yakizakana – Flame grilled fish served with daikon.

Shabu-Shabu – Hot pot with tofu, vegetables and beef.

Tonjiru – Miso soup with pork.


	6. Ch 5: Acquaintances and Enemies

**Summer Snowflake**

x.Nanako-chan.x

**xxxxA/Nxxxx**

Yay, new chappie :D Thankies to all of you who took the time to answer my questions: **TheFirstHokage, KakeruTenshi, Darksmile, notapunk, fried ryce **and thanks to the rest of you who reviewed: **Violet,** **Danimals, kibagaaralover18, Kaylyn0706, Raven's Familiar, Azalie-Kariu and HinataDelDesiertoUchija!**

This chapter is also pretty long as well… kinda my sorry for updating late with these two chapters. (I was typing it up at school and forgot to upload it so I had to re-type… and my compute got messed up and yeahh….)

**_And yay!! Summer Snowflake hit over 2000 hits :D Thankies guys_**

Little present for fried ryce-san as well...

**xxxxEndA/Nxxxx**

**Chapter 5: Acquaintances… and Enemies**

My eyes snapped open though the echoing of the young child's voice had yet to cease. I dried my damp skin. I had been crying unconsciously while I was sleeping. I used to do it all the time when I was a child.

I quivered. Sighed aloud I thought of how much I missed kaa-san, even though I'm glad I was still able to recall her voice and face. I thought of the garden. Our garden. I had taken care of it ever since kaa-san died and didn't dare let any of the Hyuuga maid's take care of it. I hope it's still blooming – it would be terrible if all those flowers wilted and died.

I got out of bed and did a couple of stretches to relieve me of the kinks that had formed when I was asleep. I looked over to the clock that hung on the wall beside me.

6:58, it read. I _had_ gone to sleep awful early so it was only natural I had woken up pretty early.

I made my way to the bathroom to wash up. I grabbed a brush and ran in through my silky, dark hair and pinned it up with a red and black butterfly clip – it was Nanako's. I proceeded to brush my teeth and wash my face. After I had finished, I slipped into my academy robes and made my way to the kitchen.

7:32.

I decided to cook natto (1) and rice for our breakfast today. I grabbed a kettle from the cupboard over me and filled it with water for my tea and Nanako's coffee.

As I waited for it to boil, I decided to do a little studying before class started. Grabbing my book bag from my room, I made my way to the dining table.

_Kido exists for attacking, binding, and healing. Like conventional magic, most of these spells require an incantation of some sort to activate their effect. The__se spells are performed through channeling spirit energy, which the incantation then focuses into a specific effect…_

Sssss….

My head shot up as soon as I heard the shrill cry of hot air coming from the kettle. I stood up and took two ceramic cups from the cupboard before carefully removing the kettle off of the hot range.

I walked over to the pantry to grab a tea bag and the jar of coffee grounds for Nanako. Carefully, I poured the hot water into the seperate cups and dipped the tea bag and coffee grounds into the cearing hot water.

Almost, as if one cue, Nanako stumbled of the bathroom looking tired and groggy, steam dancing out from behind her….. she… wasn't a morning person. She slumped over on the nearest cushion at the table and downed her coffee. Didn't I say the coffee was _cearing hot_? Expectedly, her face flushed red and panted trying to 'air condition' her tongue.

"I think my tongue just died," she stated and slumped her head on the table

I giggled softly to myself and observed her out-of-character behavior as she ate breakfast. Unlike last night, she was taking her time, trying not to gobble her food like a gluton.

"…so," she started casually, eying the rice, "have you made any friends at the academy?"

I nervously started poking my fingers together – the old habit just _had_ to come back, "I-iie," I replied. It had always been hard for me to make friends with other people – more spcifically girls. Aquaintances, yes, I had a few but come to think about it Nanako had been my first 'girl' friend.

She didn't seem to keen on talking and she didn't seem to hear me – she also seemed more sleepy then before. Her scelera was reddish, deprived from sleep and the dark bags under her eyes this morning could've almost rivaled Gaara's.

"A-ano, Nanako-chan?"

"Hmm?" she replied, not taking her eyes off her mud coffee (2).

"D-did you g-go somewhere last n-night? You s-seem awful tired today," I asked meekly.

"A-ah. I did," she started rubbing her eyes, trying to relieve the drowsiness that they had been ridden with. Her eyes watered and she furrowed her brow in response. "Went to go see a friend at the hospital – idiot tried challenging his captain 'while ago, lost, got out of the hospital to go see off a friend, overdid it and collapsed…. _again_."

I could recognize the hint of amusement in her voice as she chuckled at her friends antics and muttering something about him being a baka to challenge his captain – still, I couldn't help but recognize the small swell of pride hidden in her voice when she talked about him challenging someone so strong in comparison.

"N-ne, N-nako-chan,"

"Eh?"

"What's y-your friends' name?"

"You'll meet him soon enough," was her curt reply. "Shouldn't you be heading off to the academy?"

I cocked my head to the side. I was a chuunin, I didn't need to go to the aca…. Oh right. _Not a chuunin anymore_, I chided to myself, _I'm a Shinigami in training_. I looked over to the clock that hung on the wall beside me: 8:03, it read.

School started at, what 9:30? No reason as to why I should go right now. "Iie," I replied, "I'm gonna make me some lunch. W-what some?"

"Mmm," she grunted, "Please do."

I made my way to the kitchen and started making terriyaki chiken, miso soup, and chichi dango for our lunches.

After I packed our food in individuel bento boxes I handed one to her and looked back at the clock – 8:47.

"Arigato."

"I guess we should go now, n-ne?" I asked as I turned back to her.

"Hai-hai," she said, getting up.

We both pulled our sandels on and headed out the door. Walking leisurly towards the academy, I wondered how long it would take for me to graduate – the captains wanted me to graduate ASAP so we could go back and scout the Shinobi nations and set up sectors for future missions.

Without realizing we had stopped, I bumped into Nanako who had been walking in front of me.

"Here we are," she announced. I still couldn't get over how odd she had been acting today – stoic, gloomy. It was an odd contrast to her usual 'take no crap from no one' attitude.

I ignored that fact – she was probably still tired from last night. We said our goodbyes – well, I said goodbye, she just grunted- and I walked through the academy gates. Even before I had entered the academy I was still able to hear the quiet mutters of the various shinigami students chatting amiably with their companions.

I walked silently through the corriodrs – I was a ghost, a shadow. Not a single person even turned to awknowledge my presence. I followed a brown-haired boy through the corridors, head down, almost as if I was shamed. And to my surprise, the boy I had been following entered the same classroom as me.

I heard a group of giggles errupt and turned to see a bunch of girls looking at the guy in front of me, red tinting their cheeks.

_C'mon_, I thought, _how hard is it to just walk up and say hi?_

While I was facing an inner conflict trying to solve wether or not I should greet the group of girls in the back of the class I accidentaly bumped into the person infront of me.

"A-ah! G-gomenasai!" I sputtered out while bowing in apology.

When I looked up the only thing I could see was warm mossy green.

"You're cute."

While my brain was trying to process what had just happened I felt glares piercing the back of my head. As the heat rushed up to my face, I reluctantly turned around and saw the group of girls I wanted to approach earlier. Pale violet eyes met pairs of icy blue, warm, disapointed brown, frozen green and fiery, angry red.

Red, red lips lifted upwards into a sadistic smirk. Holy crap. I just angered the fan girls

…. _Not again_. I inwardly groaned.

**Flashback**

"_Hyuuga-san, otou-san told me that there is a clan meeting between the Hyuugas and the Uchihas being held at the Uchiha estate. He requests that you tell Hiashi-sama."_

"_H-hai U-uchiha-s-san"_

_He walked away then. After that all I could feel was this crazy killer intent inside the room._

"_Oh my gosh!!! Isn't that that freaky eyed girl with Sasuke-kun?!"_

"_He said more then just 'hn' to her! She must be taken down!"_

"_Oooohh!! That witch! Let's get her and teach her a lesson!"_

"_Yeah, Sasuke-kun belongs to us!"_

**End**** Flashback**

I shuddered. Those were the creepiest days of my life. Snickers erupting from every bush, piercing glares, someone even threw a rock through my window…

I turned back to the boy in front of me, my face still flushed from what he had said. A hearty chuckle erupted from him.

"Haha, I was just messing around with you, silly."

"A-ah," I stuttered, "s-sorry about t-that t-though."

"Not a big deal," he waved it off. He extended his hand, "Yuudai Tatsuya."

"H-Hinata H-Hyuuga," I replied, my hand firmly grasping his.

We were seated and a couple of minutes later the class had filled and Professor entered the room.

"Today," his booming voice filled the room, silencing all the students chatter, "we will be out in the courtyard gauzing your abilities. We will be testing your speed, ability in hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, and we will see how well you are able to control your reishi."

"These," he said, "will be your combat teachers for the rest of the year."

On cue, about ten Shinigami dressed in black robes walked into the room, each one wearing stern expressions on their faces.

I looked over each one of them – seven men and three women. I hardly heard Professor drone out the various names for each groupe.

"…Yuudai Tatsuya, Chinatsu Aki, Hyuuga Hinata, Momochi Haku…"

My breathe hitched. M-momochi Haku? That name seemed awfully familiar…. Wasn't Momochi Zabuza one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist? _I-impossible… purely coincidence_! I thought. My mind drifted through my past memories, ignoring Professors' calls of various Shinigami students.

N-naruto mentioned someone with Zabuza at the mist so maybe… no. Maybe he could be a relative…? No… I doubt Zabuza had family. I shook my head to rid of all of this nonsense. No way could that boy have affiliations with Zabuza or ANYONE in the Nine Shinobi Nations. Absolutely no one from the Land of Fire, the Land of Water, the Land of Sound, the Land of Earth, the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, the Land of the Waterfall, the Land of Lightning, OR the Land of Wind.

"Group one please follow the your two professors over there," Professor pointed to a woman with bleach-blonde hair and amber eyes and another man with blazing red hair and gray eyes, "Please be respectful of them. Their names are Yuzuki Hitomi and Tsubasa Sora. Hitomi will be guiding you in the works of Kido and Sora will be testing you in hand-to-hand combat, agility as well as swordsmanship."

While I was busy thinking about how coincidental the situation was, I felt a rib slightly nudge into my rib.

I turned to see Tatusya beckoning me to follow the rest of the class.

"H-hai, a-arigato Y-yuudai-san."

I saw him wrinkle his face in distaste at how I called him but I waved it off. It was getting annoying how everyone wanted me to change their suffix.

We followed the rest of the departing Shinigami into the courtyard and exited chatters erupted as we followed our two senseis.

We finally reached our training spot – a huge field near and old shed, stiff wooden sticks lining its walls.

"Now," the male started, "I am Tsubasa Sora. Please refer to me as Tsubasa or Sora-sensei. Today I will be recording you on how well you do when it comes to strength agility and how well you work with weapons. Just try your best – we have a year to improve whatever needs to be done. We," he motioned to our other teacher, "just want to see where you are right now. You're first years so we don't expect much… just… try your best," he finished lamely while the girl just nodded.

"Okay," the woman finally spoke up, "Yuzumi Hitomi. Just call me Hitomi, no suffix. I'm gonna call out ten names; all those who I call follow me into the other side of the courtyard. The other half, please stay here so Sora can gauge your skills. I will be teaching you the basics of Kido after I see how well you can control your reishi. Now…" she started calling out the names

It seemed I was placed in Sora-senseis' group.

"Now, I want…." He pointed to me, and two girls other girls – _ahem_, the same who had been glaring at me, "you three to dash around the courtyard. I wanna see how fast you guys are." He pulled a stop watch, pen and clipboard out of his duffel bag. "Line up."

The three of us followed his order, the other two sending me a dirty look for what had happened earlier – it was the fiery red-head (obviously dyed) and the icy blue-eyed blonde (obviously bleached).

We lined up and got into our positions – it seemed like they really wanted some competition from me – I really couldn't care less.

"One," they narrowed their eyes, "two," I heard a good luck from Yuudai, causing the girls expressions to turn sour, "three," I could feel their competitive glares on the side of my head, "Go!" and we were off.

I started off at a leisurely pace, no faster than I would go if I was on a C-rank mission. I looked back and realized I was leading them by a long shot. I just shrugged to my self as I saw the two girls sprinting in an odd way. _Their form is all wrong,_ I thought. They were upright stretching their legs as far as possible while I was hunched low and taking fast, small steps. Their form looked…. Ridiculous.

Before I knew it, I had made my way around the courtyard, not even out of breathe or sweaty. I was simply used to running at fast paces – I had been training my agility ever since I could walk.

I saw my Sora-sensei turn to me, eyes wide.

"Sugoi," he murmured, eying me.

I cocked my head to the side in confusion, "A-ano, sensei, h-how f-fast was I?" I hadn't been timed ever since I left the academy.

"S-seven seconds flat," he muttered. "A-and, you're not tired?"

I just shook my head. I sat down and rested my chin on my knees and waited for the other two girls to make their way back to the starting line. I snickered to myself. How would they react if I used Body Flicker no jutsu?

The two girls finally reached us, looking sweaty, out of breathe and their hair messy and disheveled (sp?)

"How the hell did she get that fast?!?" she screamed while the other replied, "She must be some crazy concoction created by Mayuri-taicho! Just look at her eyes! She's not normal."

My eyes narrowed and a low rumble sounded from the back of my throat. Much to those girls surprise, (and mine) I was growling. The truth was I was always made fun of back in the academy – girls curing my pale, pupiless (sp?), my porcelain skin and inky-blue-black hair.

_This is it! I just can't take the insults anymore – maybe back in Konoha but definitely not here!_

Before I had a chance to calm myself down I mechanically walked up to them and jabbed my finger into their necks sending a light jolt of charka through the tips of my index fingers. Two _thumps_ echoed through the empty yard and I walked away – no one was ever going to talk to me like that again.

**xxxxA/Nxxxx**

Yay! Hinata's developing back-bone :D

Anyways, I decided to end it here but I'll give you a little taste of the next chapter!

Beware of Nanako's potty mouth :o I already mentioned there'd be light swearing anyways right?

Anyways, I have an announcement, this pairing is now… HitsuHina!! I finally closed the poll – sorry to all of those who wanted Naruto (who placed 2nd) or any other guy to be with her – majority wins sadly :/

So, you guys are probably going "Hey, where's Toushiro?" well I don't want to rush the romance guys, Hinata still needs to install and get used to her new life – BTW I selected the candidate to be Nanako's guy, I gave you a little hint in this chapter….

**xxxxVocabularyxxxx**

Natto (1) Fermented soybeans and cheese… or something like that xD

Mud Coffee (2) All you do is put in finely ground coffee beans into hot water and let it sink into the bottom. It makes a sludgy kind of mess down there so they call it mud coffee.

**xxxxChapter 6 Preview: (Unnamed)xxxx**

_Sly and graceful like a cat, Nanako entered the room._

"_So," she casually started while looking and her red polished nails, "I heard about your little incident back in the academy…"_

_Tch, more like Sora-san ranted to me about how temperamental she was – yeah right! Hinata's anything but temperamental!_

"_I-If you're going to tell me how w-wrong I was to do it, just… don't. I already understand it w-was brash and rude," the words slicked off of my tongue like honey. It was hard saying something like that._

"_Tch," she scoffed, "I wasn't going to bash you – I was going to congratulate you! I'm so proud!"_

_I turned around to seeing her squealing, giddy like a schoolgirl. I rubbed my red, puffy eyes in disbelief, "Y-you're n-not mad?"_

_She grinned like an idiot, "Yeah right! Those bitches deserved it!"_

**_Ahem, reviews are lovely :D_**


	7. Ch 6: Awakening

**xxxDisclaimerxxx**

All books, items, chracters except for the several OCs mentioned in this fanfic belong to their respective owners.

**Yukishiro was not of my creation. She is a character created by Evanescences Angel** (thankies by the way!)

**xxxDisclaimerxxx**

**Summer Snowflake**

Chapter Six: Awakening

I made my way back to our apartment, still feeling a little pissed off at what those girls said. I mean, they deserved it right? _Right?_ Ugh. I felt a headache coming on. I _was_ a little brash to them I guess. But, it's not like I've ever knocked out anyone without proper reason, so maybe them _insulting_ me might've been reason enough?

I sighed. Ok, what I did _was _impulsive but, _in a way_ they deserved it… right?

"I-I'm confused," I voiced.

I've never deliberately hurt anyone unless there was proper reason but I guess I _do _owe them an apology anyways… I guess.

Suddenly, I heard the faintest of sounds echoing in the back of my head,

**Tch, why **_**do **_**you care? They're PMSing bitches who deserve it. Puhshaw, Hyuuga.**

My brow furrowed and I looked around the room. What in the world was that? I waved it off. It must've been my imagination. Yeah, that was it.

I licked my dry, chapped lips and made my way to the kitchen. _Comfort food._ That's what I need right now.

_Flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, brown sugar cream, and cinnamon. Yeah, that's about it_

**Back at the Academy**

"Oh Kami! What the hell did she do to them?"

After the _thump_ Sora instinctively went down to examine the two young girls before him. Although it is not uncommon knowledge for a shinigami to know how to knock them someone out, _a first year student?_

"Uh, well um… You guys, go see Hitomi-chan and she'll… do something, yeah…"

He sighed to himself after student after student reluctantly left.

"Sensei?"

He looked up to see a girly-looking boy there with a sheepish looking smile plastered on his face, "Do you need help bringing them back to the fourth quarter?"

Sora, dumbstruck looked back down and immediately realized what the young man had been referring to. There were _two_ of them.

He pursed his lips for a moment in though then chuckled a little, "Yeah, I guess I do, thanks… uh?"

"Momochi Haku," he responded, giving a small bow.

"Ah, hai. Arigatogozaimasu, Momochi-san."

He offered his sensei a curt nod then gingerly picked up the girl before him while his sensei picked the other one and slung her over his shoulder.

"They were being rude you know," stated the young boy.

"Ah, I know."

After a couple of quiet minutes of walking Haku spoke up, "Sensei?" he asked.

"Hai?"

"What was the name of the girl that knocked these two out?" His eyes were still trailed out in front of him a serene expression over his visage.

"Hyuuga Hinata," Sora responded.

A brow furrowed on Haku face at the mention of Hyuuga, "She's an excellent runner," he offered.

Sora gave a curt nod to the boy beside him and looked at him through the corner of his eye.

"You could say she's a special case," he said in a quiet tone, barely audible.

"A special case?" Haku echoed.

He nearly smacked himself for letting his student hear that. Sora simply nodded to himself and gave no response trying not to let the conversation of the young Hyuuga go on. It probably wasn't a good idea to be spreading the word about where Hinata had come from though it was probably just Sora being paranoid.

_Hyuuga. Hyuuga. That name and the eyes. They both seem so familiar. _His eyes snapped open, _Hyuuga! That's it. That's one of the noblest clans in Konoha! She, she looked about fifteen years old, and that speed… only a ninja could achieve such speed... It's possible! … and Naruto should be around fifteen by no…_

"_**So I can become the best ninja in my village! Then everyone will know who I am and they'll all respect me. There's also a certain person, a kid I have to prove something too."**_

A charming smile painted his features.

**xxx**

A waft of sweet air filled my nostrils. Just a little longer, I prepped. I kept on washing the sticky pans in the sink while my mouth watered at the thought of the delectable cinnamon buns waiting in the oven. I let out a wistful sigh as I dry off my wet hands and walked to my bedroom. Grabbing a pair of knee-length black shorts and a baggy red t-shirt, I made my way to the bathroom.

I plugged the tub and let the warm water run. I pulled my silk-like into a high bun and undressed. I then squirted some lavender-scented bubble bath into the balmy water. The bubbled formed, and I stepped into the tub. The lavender scent emitting from the water wafted to my nostrils while the sweet smell of the cinnamon mixed into the air. _Just a little longer._

After a couple of relaxing minutes I heard a ding from the kitchen. I stood up and rinsed my body. I dried off and changed into the crisp, clean-smelling clothes and walked into the kitchen. I carefully removed the pan from the oven. I grabbed a spoon and grabbed the bowl of icing I had made earlier.

I slopped and spoonful of icing onto the buns and started spreading the sugary concoction evenly on the buns and giggled to myself about how childish I was being. I reluctantly waited a couple of minutes letting the bunds cool down and went on a search for something to read in the apartment.

I stepped into Nanako's room looking for a bookshelf or something for some reading material. I found various items scattered on the ground and her desk and I saw a group of books on her nightstand.

_Vampire Hunter D, The Saga of Darren Shan, Twilight, Harry Potter, The Outsiders, The Dark Half, The Telltale Heart, A Series Of Unfortunate Events, and Wuthering Heights._

I decided on _The Outsiders. _I clutched the book in my hand and made my way back to the kitchen. I sat on the couch, leaning against the armrest with my legs pulled against my chest. I finally sunk my teeth into the sugary, moist buns. And let my mind be absorbed into the book.

By finishing the first chapter I had to admit it. I had no clue what the hell was happening. I mean, "What the hell is madras, a hubcap, Mustang, or a Corvair?" I voiced aloud. I sighed and hugged my legs. I looked at the now empty plate.

"Maybe just one more," I smiled.

**You're seriously gonna rot in your teeth if you keep eating that shit.**

"Nanako?"

I looked around the room trying to see if Nanako had arrived. I furrowed my eyebrows. _Just my imagination_, I thought. In truth, I had a feeling it wasn't her. She doesn't use much slang and she rarely cussed. Just my imagination.

**xxx**

She walked at a leisurely pace towards the academy. _Hinata should be getting off right about now._

She hummed to herself and made her way back to the academy. Several Shinigami students were exiting the academy, just supporting Nanako's suspicion.

Nanako tapped her foot impatiently on the hard, wooden floors of the hallway. What was taking Hinata so long? She turned to the opening of the door and Professor stepped out of the room.

"Ah, Hoshi-san," he addressed her.

"Hmm?" She turned to the elderly man, "Ah professor," she gave a curt bow, "Is there something you need to report any of the captains?"

They rarely ever talked unless it was about business between the Gotei 13 and the academy.

"Iie," he responded, "it isn't that. It's about Hyuuga Hinata. The instructors that she was assigned to, Tsubasa Sora and Yuzuki Hitomi, well, Sora would like to have a word for you in the court yard."

She quirked an eyebrow and gave another small bow to the professor, "Well, I'll go see what they're up to then."

Nanako walked away, but broke into a small jog after turning the corner. Once she reached the courtyard, she say Sora standing not to far away.

"Sora-san," she greeted.

"Hoshi-san. It's true that Hyuuga Hinata is under you supervision as of now, am I correct?"

"Yes she is," she responded, a little slowly.

"Then I would find it that she is your responsibility."

She nodded.

"Well, it seems that Hinata is a little too… bold for my tastes... Just like you," he muttered the last part almost inaudibly.

She gave another nod not hearing the last part. Nanako unconsciously quirked an eyebrow. Hinata wasn't bold. She also didn't like the tone he had been giving her. Sure, she had known Sora for a little bit but that never meant she liked him. He was her class' heartthrob. The pretty looking boy, that was practically perfect at everything that every girl in her class desperately wanted to get to know… and he insulted her... and he was better at her in swordsmanship and agility… and kido… So he sucked.

"Anyways," Sora said, "Hinata knocked out two girls in my classroom."

She accidentally let out a snort and an amused expression crept onto her face, "Sounds like something I would do," she chuckled.

"Hardyhaha."

"Oh c'mon Sora! Hinata's one of the kindest girls I've ever seen! She probably did it because these girls provoked her, am I right?"

"Yes, they did provoke her," he reluctantly said, "but that doesn't mean she should've of handled it the way she did. And yes, it probably is something you would've done."

"So? What's the big deal, they provoked her! In fact, enlighten me," she added dryly, "tell me what innocent little thing they did," she asked sarcastically.

"I was timing them," he said, "she beat them they insulted her, calling her a 'freak concoction of Mayuri-taicho,'"

Nanako scowled, "Well I'm very glad she did knock them out. Those girls had no right to insult her! Jealous, that's what those girls are. If it were me, I would've bashed their faces in!"

"Tch, I have no doubt you wouldn't have done that. I bet the Hyuuga only did this since you're such a bad influence."

"Oh c'mon! Don't tell the wittle itty bitty Sowa can't think of anything better than that?"

"Ugh! You're so immature Hoshi! You're no different from what you were in the academy days!"

"The academy days?! Of you've got to be kidding me! You're bringing up seething that happened over twenty years ago?! Oh," an amused expression fell onto her face and a mischievous glint tinted her eyes, "You're still angry! You're still angry about that time when I slugged you and your nose broke, aren't you! Haha!" she clapped her hands, "that's why you've been hounding me all that time! 'Cause you couldn't be perfect in hand to hand combat."

"Uh! Just that one subject Hoshi!"

"Oh kami, you're not even denying it!"

"I could've beaten you and we both know it!" he yelled.

"Oh, yeah," she said sarcastically, "It's because YOU WERE TOO BUSY FLEXING YOUR MUSCLES FOR THE FAN GIRLS!"

"That's not true and we both know it! I was just very well muscled!"

"Ah whatever Sora… you're a bitch!"

"… a bitch? That's all you can come up with? That is totally irrelevent to whatever topic we were speaking of!"

"Well you are anyways! …bitch," and thus, she resorted to fingering Sora and running off. Lovely.

**xxx**

"…what's a coke?" I wondered out loud. I had no idea what the hell was happening in this book. I sighed. What was the point of reading if I have no clue what in the world was going on? I know absolutely nothing about the material world!

I huffed and felt myself becoming restless. I wanted to train but I barely knew how to get to the academy, much less any of the training grounds around here.

I suddenly heard the door click open.

Sly and graceful like a cat, Nanako entered the room.

"So," she casually started while looking and her red polished nails, "I heard about your little incident back in the academy…"

'_Tch, more like Sora ranted to me 'bout it!'_

"I-If you're going to tell me how w-wrong I was to do it, just… don't. I already understand it w-was brash and rude," the words slicked off of my tongue like honey. It was hard saying something like that.

"Tch," she scoffed, "I wasn't going to bash you – I was going to congratulate you! I'm so proud!"

I turned around to seeing her squealing, giddy like a schoolgirl. I rubbed my red, puffy eyes in disbelief, "Y-you're n-not mad?"

She grinned like an idiot, "Yeah right! Those bitches deserved it! So, what do you want? You deserve an award… eugh," she placed her hand underneath her chin and started pondering, "Want a... kitten...?"

"Ano, it's… ok," I said bluntly, "I don't really want... a kitten…"

"Eh, I guess you're right," she scratched the back of her head, "We wouldn't even be able to pay attention for the poor thing. Oh!" she turned to her side and laid down the shoulder bag on the couch. She searched the capacious bag and found what she was looking for. She produced a thick, navy-blue hardcover book from the bag, "Here, Matsumoto-san gave this to me while I was working today," she handed it over to me. "It's a text on how to provoke the awakening of your zanpakutou. She said it'd be handy for you"

"Ano, Nako-chan, what do you mean by 'provoking the awakening of your zanpakutou'?"

"Well," she started off, "each zanpakutou resembles a sword to some extent and each weapon holds a part of the owner's soul, so you can try connecting with it. It usually starts as a little voice at the back of your head… or at least it was like that to me."

'_**Tch, why do you care? They're PMSing bitches who deserve it. Puhshaw, Hyuuga.'**_

'_**You're seriously gonna rot in your teeth if you keep eating that shit.'**_

I simply nodded to myself and walked back into my room while Nanako occupied herself by munching a cinnamon bun in the kitchen. Was it my zanpakutou? Was that what I heard earlier today?

**No duh bakayaro,** it snickered.

I looked around and I gulped to myself. I felt like I was going crazy. I mean, talking to your spirit?

_K-konichiwa_

**Eugh, that incessant stuttering. You really need to work on that Hyuuga.**

_Great, _I thought, _I've barely spoken a word to it and it's already pointed out my flaws, _I remarked bitterly.

**Haha, not my fault your so easy to read. Not to mention your memories were pretty juicy too, **it chuckled.

I furrowed my brow, _Ano… what's your name?_

**Tisk, tisk, formalities, formalities. Might as well invite you into my cozy little home.**

I blinked and I found myself in totally different place. The air was still frigid but the sun was out, shining. I stepped forward and heard a slosh underneath my feet. Piles of snow were scattered around the meadow but they were slushy, melting.

"Well," a clear voice said, "here it is. My home and the recesses of your mind."

I turned to the person to whom the voice was coming from. I saw nothing.

"Boo."

I shrieked a little and turned around to see a woman behind me.

Her hair was pitch black, long and silky running down her head and just barely touching the slushy ground. Her skin was tan and her eyes were completely blue, a light blue, even the sclera. She had scar running down each of her light azure-blue eyes. The woman wore a long, white cloak that heavily contrasted with her ebony hair. She placed her hand on her hip, pushing the cloak away from her body. By doing so, you could see the girl was wearing a pair of tight, black shorts and a matching yenta with bandages covering her chest.

"Well," she started, "there isn't much to say. My name is Yukishiro, your 'zanpakutou.'"

I nodded lamely. I was at a loss of words.

She sighed, "Baka, you're not much are you? Hmph, guess not."

Yukishiro examined Hinata a little more closely, making said Hyuuga heiress fidget a little.

She huffed and walked away, "I don't thing I'm wanting to lend you my abilities. I want to see what you can do if you're worthy of me… I can't lie to say the fact that we've been communicating so easily surprises me but… I'm not impressed.

Before disappearing into the thick wood she sighed again, a wistful look in her eyes, "I'll be watching you," she whispered.

I felt dizzy and blackness invaded my vision. I found myself back in my room. _It was real_, I convinced myself. It wasn't a dream.

The woman… Yukishiro. One look at her and you could tell she was deadly, but for some reason… she just seemed so mysterious, and graceful.

_I wish I could be like that. Only I'm too' innocent' to kill, I can be read like an open book and if possible, I could trip over my own two feet._

She said she'd be watching. I just need to impress her. But how? I bet I couldn't learn much from the academy. They seemed to have pretty low standards for the first years but maybe… I could take an advanced class? But it didn't seem enough. My zanpakutou seemed to want to see a demonstration of strength, but where in the world would I be able to do that? Even if I found the right opportunity, I couldn't fight with a katana! Only ANBU and rarely jounins knew how to handle a sword so skillfully.

I timidly walked to the living room where I found Nanako sprawled on the couched reading the same book I had been struggling with earlier.

"Nanako-chan," I asked.

"Yu-huh?"

"A-ano… w-well.. I-I wanted a-a f-favor of y-you."

She looked up from her book, "What is it Hinata-chan?"

"I-I was wondering if you could help me out with my swordsmanship. I-I've never fought with a katana before and I doubt I'd do very well."

She offered a sheepish grin to her, "W-Well, about that... I can't say I'm very good either."

If you looked close enough, you could see her eyebrow twitching.

"Hontoni?" I asked a little surprised.

You've seen my Shikai! I'm a long range expert Hinata-chan. I'm rarely ever needed to perform close quarter combat… and I pratically failed that class," she muttered to herself.

"But… I could arrange something between one of my friends… aha!" her eyes lit up, "Ikkaku should be able to help you."

"I-Ikkaku?"

She nodded gleefully, "He's AMAZING with a bow staff so he should be able to teach you a lot about handling close-combat weapons!

I smiled a little. Half of me desperately wanted to jump for joy, while the other half scolded herself for being so selfish. Said man probably didn't want me to be occupying his time. I furrowed my brow, "Be a little selfish Hinata," I said to myself.

**Review Please :) I'll update when I get as many reviews as the previous chapter (-insertevillaugh-)**

**xxxA/Nxxx**

Ok, I seriously think I rant WAY too much on these but… IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY!! I took FOREVER just to update. And trust me, I felt stuck. I typed up the chapter and realized how it sucked so much. It was like a crack fic, so I retyped it and voila! Anyways, again, I am so sorry! I mean, I luff you guys :3 You were so pwnsome last chapter :D But do you know what would be even more pwnsome? If everyone in my little favorite and alert box reviewed… -hinthint-

Anyways, seriously guys, do you think Hinata would know ANYTHING about the material? i'm looking forward to that chapter -.-; 'Cause were gonna see how she reacts to a car xD

**xxxA/Nxxx**

**xxxThankies!xxx**

DarkSmile, TheFirstHokage, Rikkamaru, KakeruTenshi, HeartBrokenHinata, cooliocows215, Punkey-Monkey, Shadow Zeranion, Akira Thorn, Raven's Familiar, HinataDelDesiertoUchija, kibagaaralover18, mizxpiggy, mizxpiggy, Kaylyn0706 (even if you don't get it xD), Gaahina, fesfisgbf13, Angel-eyes56 and Spammy –huggles-

And all the rest of you who faved, alerted, and/or C2d :)

**xxxThankies!xxx**

**By the way, if you review this chappie, I'll let you hug Gaara!**

Gaara: Heck no! That girl tried to rape me once –points-

Nanako: -shiftyeyesandwhisper- I'll let you rape Gaara xD

**Oh what a poor guy. Not our fault he's so damn hot.**


	8. AN, Sorry

**xxx Author's Note xxx**

Eh, I've always hated these. Sorry, but no chappie this week. I might take awhile to update, to say the least. Once again I'm sorry but I'll delete this message once I have the next chapter up. I really have no excuse, I'm just lazy and alot of homework has come up. Ok, fine that was an excuse. Anyways, sorry again. I'll try to updat ASAP. I might even do a little editing for the first couple of chapters.

-Nanako


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